Zero appetite for 15-day Wimbledon, says Henman

LONDON : Wimbledon organisers have "zero appetite" to turn the Championships into a 15-day event, according to former British number one and four-times semi-finalist Tim Henman.

The U.S. Open announced this week that it would extend the main draw to 15 days while the Australian Open made the step this year. The French Open changed to a Sunday start in 2006.

However, Wimbledon seems unlikely to follow suit, partly to protect the natural grass surface on Centre Court which can look threadbare by the finals weekend.

Henman, who is a member of the All England Tennis Club board, said the decision to move to 14 days by removing the middle Sunday rest day from 2022 had been a big decision.

"The big issue from when it was a 13-day event was that the middle Sunday was absolutely about watering the court to make sure that it was going to be still alive for the latter part of the tournament," he said.

"Centre Court is the one that gets played on the most because it's used every day and to have it in the best possible condition for the final weekend, it was a big decision to go to 14 days. The research and data around that, you're looking at 80 hours of tennis on Centre, that's the sort of maximum.

"I think the appetite to go to 15 days is zero, first and foremost because of the courts."

Speaking to reporters at the launch of Sky Sports' tennis coverage of the ATP and WTA Tours and U.S. Open, Henman said that the 14-day format at Wimbledon was working well and that the 11 p.m. curfew would also likely remain in place.

Matches finishing in the early hours have become a feature of the other Slams, but Wimbledon's relatively early finish is popular with players, media, organisers and fans alike.

"I've always thought it was slightly bizarre that